Planting Lilies Now

Hi !!! This is my first time posting on the boards. My problem is...Yesterday I planted some lily bulbs( I'm Southern Ontario, Zone 6.), and when I took them out of the bag(they were in peat)...there was already sprouts a couple inches on them!! But today, along came a squirrel and dug one up, mauled it a bit and bit of the shoot that was coming! I planted the bulb back in the ground and I planted the scales the squirrel ripped off........Will this lily (Asiatic 'America') still grow? Or have I lost it? Please help!!!

sw,
First let me welcome you to Dave's glad you found us. Did you post this in the lily forum as well. There are alot of knowledge people there and I am sure they will answer you very quickly.

Sorry I could be of much help hope your lily survives!

Michelle

Hi, Michelle!

I actualy don't have a membership now, so I can't post in the lily forum.....so I thought I'd try it here.

Thanks for the welcome and reply!!!

Steve

Steve,
I posted your question for you in the lily forum. Their response was the bulb should be fine. The worst that could happen is the stem / sprout is completely broken resulting in no bloom this year but should be OK next year. They suggest if you have anything that you can temporarily put over the planted area, such as chicken wire or an overturned wire basket? Even old hanging baskets that are made of heavy wire.

In the meanwhile,You could try a heavy dose of black pepper on the soil. The lily people are fantastic! Hope you choose to join DG! Good Luck
Michelle

That was really thoughtful of you, Michelle.

Hello Again!
That was really nice of you Michelle!!! Thanks :)
I'm glad my lily should survive...I can't stand not knowing if it will come up or not :)
I put some chicken wire cages on them so they won't get eaten again! I also put down some blood meal to keep the squirrels away......And I didn't know you could use black pepper.
Thanks again Michelle!!! And thanks everyone in the lily forum!

Steve

No problem Steve glad I could help!

Zeppy
Thanks was glad I could help Steve get the answer to his question.

Michelle

Steve, I think I gave you some misinformation and I apologize. If the stem is snapped off from the bulb, chances are it will not continue to grow. I just had this happen to me with some bulbs I purchased. What you can do is save the scales and propagate those. I'm in the process of learning how to do this myself, so I'm not the person to ask. If the stem is just munched, it may continue to grow, but may have no bloom. Once the stem if fully up, you can cut up to 2/3 of the stem with no ill effect to the bulb. Hopefully, this makes all clearer.

the squirrel tore up about half the bulb and the stem was completly gone. I could see the 'heart' or whatever it was in the center of the bulb.

Don't about the misinfo, I still have 2(well gaurded) of this variety left.
If it doesn't come up, thats alright.

Thanks,
Steve :)